Andrew Leigh
Member
I bought 6.5X55mm for my grandbuddies in the hope that they will take to shooting and hunting. Well today was the day to find that out.
So off we went to the range today, I had some serious reservations as these little buggers are real city slickers and had not even fired a airgun before. A friend had kindly volunteered his time and .243 with slighly downloaded ammo so that is where we started. He also brought his cousin, a very seasoned hunter, they were both a great help.
At this point we started shooting off the bench, over an X bag at a range of 100m with a target with 1" bulls. I remember saying clearly to my shooting companions that I was not worried where they shot I simply wanted to familiarise them with recoil etc. And to teach them some basic principles.
Travis is 15 so big brother started. Well I was amazed first shot 1" high 1" right, second shot clips the bull.
Kieren is 13 and next, first shot flinched badly second shot 1" from the bull.
Ayden is 9 and is skin and bone, a very slight boy. He battled to get any cheekweld and was at a massive disadvantage as the LOP is 13.5" he had his two shots within 4" of the bull. But that .243 punished him, you could see he was taking strain by he manned up like you can't believe and came back for more. The .243 knocked him back 8 - 10" with every shot. He told me later his legs were shaking from the adrenaline.
My shooting companions and I could not believe how close to the mark they were on there first outing with a rifle. Obviously not every shot was near the mark but more were than were not (if that makes any sense).
My mate then offered the two bigger boys a shot each with his bull barreled .308. Again Travis clipped the bull and Kieran was 2" away. We did not let Ayden shoot that one.
Then it was onto the 6.5mm. I had meant to download some 120gr Sierra's but ran out of time so I took my 130gr Accubond hunting loads as well as some 140gr. SGK hunting loads. The boys shot very well, Ayden again struggled with the recoil, I gave him every chance to bow out gracefully but he was not detered. The 6.5mm moved his shoulder about 12 - 18" with each shot but the little bugger manned up.
We then had some fun, I took out the shooting sticks and let the boys have a go at the 12 inch gong while standing and Travis who is big enough to support the weight of the rifle hit the going out of the hand twice at 100m. We used the 140gr. for this exercise and clearly this was the the point at which Ayden was feeling real discomfort but he still managed two shots.
Well the day ended with a sit down burger lunch to do some bragging and bonding.
The boys exceeded my wildest expectations and they did exceedingly well, very proud of them. The next step is have a more formal range outing, this will allow the boys to start shooting groups. This will also be a leveller as the boys discounted the poorer shots only remembering the best ones. I was not going to burst their euphoric bubble, now that they have displayed a real interest to shoot and hunt there remains work to be done.
Clearly to have them all shoot the rifle I need to have the comb on the stock adjustable as well as the LOP. Will fit a bipod and we will be ready to rock and roll.
What a day
.
So off we went to the range today, I had some serious reservations as these little buggers are real city slickers and had not even fired a airgun before. A friend had kindly volunteered his time and .243 with slighly downloaded ammo so that is where we started. He also brought his cousin, a very seasoned hunter, they were both a great help.
At this point we started shooting off the bench, over an X bag at a range of 100m with a target with 1" bulls. I remember saying clearly to my shooting companions that I was not worried where they shot I simply wanted to familiarise them with recoil etc. And to teach them some basic principles.
Travis is 15 so big brother started. Well I was amazed first shot 1" high 1" right, second shot clips the bull.
Kieren is 13 and next, first shot flinched badly second shot 1" from the bull.
Ayden is 9 and is skin and bone, a very slight boy. He battled to get any cheekweld and was at a massive disadvantage as the LOP is 13.5" he had his two shots within 4" of the bull. But that .243 punished him, you could see he was taking strain by he manned up like you can't believe and came back for more. The .243 knocked him back 8 - 10" with every shot. He told me later his legs were shaking from the adrenaline.
My shooting companions and I could not believe how close to the mark they were on there first outing with a rifle. Obviously not every shot was near the mark but more were than were not (if that makes any sense).
My mate then offered the two bigger boys a shot each with his bull barreled .308. Again Travis clipped the bull and Kieran was 2" away. We did not let Ayden shoot that one.
Then it was onto the 6.5mm. I had meant to download some 120gr Sierra's but ran out of time so I took my 130gr Accubond hunting loads as well as some 140gr. SGK hunting loads. The boys shot very well, Ayden again struggled with the recoil, I gave him every chance to bow out gracefully but he was not detered. The 6.5mm moved his shoulder about 12 - 18" with each shot but the little bugger manned up.
We then had some fun, I took out the shooting sticks and let the boys have a go at the 12 inch gong while standing and Travis who is big enough to support the weight of the rifle hit the going out of the hand twice at 100m. We used the 140gr. for this exercise and clearly this was the the point at which Ayden was feeling real discomfort but he still managed two shots.
Well the day ended with a sit down burger lunch to do some bragging and bonding.
The boys exceeded my wildest expectations and they did exceedingly well, very proud of them. The next step is have a more formal range outing, this will allow the boys to start shooting groups. This will also be a leveller as the boys discounted the poorer shots only remembering the best ones. I was not going to burst their euphoric bubble, now that they have displayed a real interest to shoot and hunt there remains work to be done.
Clearly to have them all shoot the rifle I need to have the comb on the stock adjustable as well as the LOP. Will fit a bipod and we will be ready to rock and roll.
What a day
.
